You Can “Shatter the Myths”

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is sponsoring “National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week: Shatter the Myths (NADFW)” January 22- 28, 2018. You can help the fight against prescription drug misuse. Get educated! Marijuana, alcohol and prescription drug misuse is a growing problem for teens age 14 and older. Many teens misuse prescription drugs to get high, or because they think the drugs help with schoolwork. Commonly misused drugs include opioid pain relievers such as Vicodin or OxyContin, depressants such as Valium or Xanax, and stimulants such as Adderall, or Ritalin. Teens often take these drugs from relatives with valid prescriptions.

Doctors prescribe drugs to help people with a medical condition. Drug abuse includes taking someone else’s prescription. Taking a medication differently than prescribed, taking a medication to get high, or mixing the medication with other drugs or alcohol is also abuse.

Misuse and abuse of prescription drugs can lead to addiction, overdose and death. Addiction takes over your life.  You can prevent addiction by carefully following your doctor’s instruction for taking your medication. Store your prescriptions in a safe place away from children and teens. Safely dispose of unused prescriptions when you do not need them anymore. You can call your local pharmacy, or Visiting Nurses of the Lower Valley to find out more about safe medication disposal.

Help educate young people by educating yourself. Keep prescription drugs off the street. Talk to your teens.  Learn About NDAFW | NIDA for Teens

 

The National Institute on Drug Abuse Blog Team: Prescription Drugs. Retrieved from https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/prescription-drugs on December 18, 2017.